Mashup

Evalyn may be a newcomer to the pop space, but she is absolutely no lightweight, and she’s proving it to the world by coming out of the gate swinging with a jaw-dropping cover of “The Hills” by The Weeknd. Her self-dubbed style of wine-stained soul pop will take you swimming in a pool of vibes, and she couldn’t have picked a better cover to make her debut with.

Tabbing the up-and-coming duo, Louis Vivet, for production duties, Evalyn’s cover of “The Hills” is like a collision between the smooth sultriness of The Weeknd’s original and the gritty, electro-tinged, neo-noir atmosphere of Kavinsky’s “Nightcall,” which serves as the second backbone to the cover.

Louis Vivet deftly craft a blank canvas for Evalyn’s soaring vocals to peer into your soul like an emotional telescope. Heavy-handed synth sequences give the cover a somber, nostalgic feel before peeling back to reveal the subtle percussion arrangements and beautiful string melodies that are at the core of the tune. Check it out below and keep an eye out for Evalyn because she’s the real deal.

I got called out last week on Twitter for not posting enough Mashup Mondays. I feared it would come to that. So I’m getting my ass in shape and posting a Mashup Monday. (No promises on next week – good mashups are too hard to come by. That might also be an excuse for it being hard to find time to post on Mondays. The real world is the worst.)

As the Sunset team is working on putting together our typical year-end lists, I was sent this beautiful recap of 2013 in the form of a mashup video. Sri Lankan artists Sheaam Deen and VY sang clips from Miley Cyrus’s “Wrecking Ball,” Zedd’s “Clarity,” Macklemore and Ryan Lewis’s “Can’t Hold Us,” Rihanna’s “Stay,” Justin Timberlake’s “Mirrors,” Jason Derulo’s “The Other Side,” Imagine Dragons’s “Radioactive” and Avicii’s “Wake Me Up.” But instead of it being just your typical year-end mashup revolving solely around music, the video commemorated the tragedies and celebrations that will likely highlight 2013 around the world (Boston Marathon, Trayvon Martin, Royal Baby, Mandela’s passing, Harlem Shake, Obamacare, and more). And then it challenges us at the end to think about what we will remember 2013 for. And better yet: how will you choose to see 2014? This is a creative take on the year-end mashup; a great way for these artists to separate themselves from the pack.

My goodness, you guys. I sincerely apologize for dropping the [Wrecking] Ball on the Mashup Mondays feature. Somebody should Wake Me Up and remind me that I need to treat yall like Royals, because that’s what you are. Alas, the Demons of the real world have been haunting me. The Monster that is work has been particularly monstrous lately. But today, I got a chance to Slow Down and enjoy some mashups. That’s right, I’m a lion and you’re going to hear me ROAR. [Applause from the crowd.]

Bonus points to anybody who can name the artists behind all the songs listed in this description. Or all of the artists used in Mashup Germany’s mashup below. Crazytown.

Not feeling very well today, but thankful for time to rest, Monday Night Football, and mashups…getting me through today. Here are some top mashups for y’all. Highlight is #3 – pure perfection coming from Isonine.

First off, happy Monday. I know it’s been a while since I’ve posted a Mashup Monday, but I hope yall can forgive me. Now that that’s behind us, here’s our first mashup. It’s by our dude Ricky Cervantes and it got Drake, Krewlla, Kanye West, Lil Wayne and Eminem all on one track and it sounds amazing.

Second, bet you never thought you’d hear Kendrick and Katy Perry on the same track? Particularly not after meeting angry kid Kendrick on “Control.” Ah but alas, The White Panda wanted it to happen, so it did.

Third,Arjun sent me this little gem today, in perfect time for Mashup Monday. The Tutankhamun Brothersfound a way to blend Kanye West and The Beatles in a way that sometimes (and frankly more times than I would have expected) actually sounds decent. Not quite Danger Mouse/The Grey Album status, but this is good stuff.